Boosting unstable particles

L. Gavassino and F. Giacosa
Phys. Rev. A 106, 042215 – Published 20 October 2022

Abstract

In relativity, there is no absolute notion of simultaneity because two clocks that are in different places can always be desynchronized by a Lorentz boost. Here, we explore the implications of this effect for the quantum theory of unstable particles. We show that when a wave function is boosted, its tails travel one to the past and the other to the future. As a consequence, in the new frame of reference, the particle is in a quantum superposition decayed + nondecayed, where the property decayedness is entangled with the position. Since a particle cannot be localized in a region smaller than the Compton wavelength, there is a nonzero lower bound on this effect, which is fundamental in nature. The surprising implication is that, in a quantum world, decay probabilities can never be Lorentz invariant. We show that this insight was the missing ingredient to reconcile the seemingly conflicting views about time dilation in relativistic quantum mechanics and quantum field theory.

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  • Received 27 June 2022
  • Accepted 10 October 2022

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.106.042215

©2022 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

General PhysicsParticles & FieldsNuclear Physics

Authors & Affiliations

L. Gavassino1 and F. Giacosa2,3

  • 1Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center, Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. Bartycka 18, 00-716 Warsaw, Poland
  • 2Institute of Physics, Jan-Kochanowski University, ul. Uniwersytecka 7, 25-406 Kielce, Poland
  • 3Institute for Theoretical Physics, J. W. Goethe University, Max-von-Laue-Str. 1, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany

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Issue

Vol. 106, Iss. 4 — October 2022

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